Merseyrail's chief operating officer has apologised for disruption caused by ongoing engineering works and the “teething problems” experienced by users of rail replacement services. Since Sunday, October 11, trains have been suspended between Hunts Cross and Moorfields on the Northern Line until Saturday, November 7.
The temporary disruption is due to essential engineering work by Network Rail as part of a £3.5m project to strengthen and waterproof four tunnels that bring services into Liverpool from the south. On Friday, October 16, the ECHO was given rare access to explore the rail tunnels running underneath the city.
Rare look at hidden tunnels
Guided by figures from Network Rail and Merseyrail, the ECHO met at Brunswick station and was taken down the St James Tunnel, where engineers were blasting off old concrete on the tunnel sides with a jet washer. This will be replaced with a new coating of concrete as part of the wider waterproofing work. A road rail vehicle, which transports materials across the line, was also seen in action. The tour continued through the huge maintenance depot of Liverpool Central, where the same process was taking place.
Speaking to the ECHO in the St James Tunnel, Merseyrail chief operating officer Stephen Dodd insisted the work was essential. He said: ”It's a 3.5m investment. It's absolutely needed because, not only is this work important in terms of strengthening these four Victorian tunnels, but crucially it's waterproofing them, which protects some of the critical infrastructure that we've got down here. This ultimately helps us have a much more reliable railway in the future.”
Essential waterproofing works
Helen Little, a works delivery manager at Network Rail, told the ECHO: “In these tunnels, we’re undertaking some waterproofing works. Further down the blockade, there is also concrete spray work. This project has been in the plans for nearly three years now. At the minute there are some wet patches on the tunnel. These tunnels are 100-years-old, so they naturally deteriorate. Any wet patches on the floor where the water is leaking, this can cause deterioration of the third rail. If the third rail stops producing power, the trains can’t run.”
Ms Little said doing it in one go will be much more efficient than trying to move all the equipment in and out during one night each week. She also said the works are currently on schedule. She said: “It’s quite a large set-up we have here, so to get all the materials in during a six-hour period on a Saturday night, it would be very difficult to do. We’re on track [to meet the deadline] and I’m very confident it will be done by then.”
Apology for miscommunication
Mr Dodd said Merseyrail had been aware that these works were needed for some time and argued it could have been even more disruptive, with initial plans proposing that Liverpool Central would be fully shut and therefore cancelling other lines on the network. He said: “We work in years in terms of our relationship with Network Rail, so we've known about this work for a while. We've actually worked collaboratively with them. We've managed to put some additional work in around track feeder switches, which will help us in terms of turning the isolations off a bit quicker when they do general day-to-day maintenance. It's probably important that I actually praise Network Rail because the first tranche of these plans actually included Liverpool Central as part of the footprint, which we know would inconvenience a lot more journeys. But through that effective plan and that collaboration, we actually managed to shorten that. So while I understand and I accept the journeys on the Hunts Cross line are affected and they are a little less seamless than we would want them to be, we've crucially managed to stay out of the footprint of Liverpool Central, which means Ormskirk and Southport all run absolutely fine.”
However, the rail replacement bus service hasn’t been entirely smooth. Commuters were wrongly told the buses would follow the same timetable as the trains. When this was put to Mr Dodd, he responded: “Firstly, I'd like to apologise for any miscommunication on day one. I do know the social media teams have been communicating proactively and effectively since then. I think on the first day of disruption, there were probably a few teething problems, but we've got the message out to customers now. I'd also like to acknowledge the customers on the Hunts Cross line. We know that this makes your journey a little less seamless, but rest assured, it's absolutely needed and it'll give you a more reliable railway.”
There was also some confusion about how to get train tickets with this new system. One commuter didn’t go into a station to get a ticket as he thought it was closed due to the works, only to get kicked off the rail replacement bus for not having a ticket. Many of the stops for the rail replacement buses were several minutes away from the station itself. Mr Dodd said: "Firstly, I'd just like to reassure all customers that all of our stations, including the ones that are currently as part of this planned work, are fully staffed from start of service till end of service. We have them staffed for customers to buy tickets. We also have tap and go. I do know there was a bit of confusion on day one, and again, we apologise for that, but hopefully the message has landed now - go to the station staff, they'll be able to give you the tickets or direct you to tap and go."
An ECHO journalist tapped in at one station but was unable to tap out at the other on Monday as the machine was located on a closed-off platform. When asked if the missing tap could be registered online, as stated on the Merseyrail website, a staff member was unsure. Mr Dodd said: “I'd like to think it has been communicated and that's been an isolated incident, but we'll certainly take that on board and we'll have a look at it.”
